It's Raining...It's Pouring....

We had been awaiting some relief of our hot, dry summer, so when we heard cooler weather with possible rain we were excited!  Little did we know our rain would turn into a historic flood.  We were fortunate to not have any damage at our house or the rental (which is vacant), but unfortunately many others weren't so lucky.  I've never seen anything like it, especially in Colorado.  Seven straight days of rain, and not just a drizzle.  I mean...downpours!  

At first I was a little freaked out knowing I had to pack all the girls up to take Brooklynn to school.  I'm not exactly a trooper when it comes to weather.   Then I remembered a little rain never hurt anyone, and why not enjoy it with the girls.  They loved it!  So we headed out each day with our umbrellas in tow and made the best of it.  

Brooklynn even sang and danced in the rain

 Our favorite part was finding all the worms and trying to save them before they'd dry out on the sidewalk.

I can't believe all the devastation around us - some not so far away.  Of course, since we've all been complaining about the drought I guess it's true - "when it rains, it pours."

Another milestone

And just like that.....another one in school.  I feel like time will really fly now!  Chandler has been anticipating preschool for months.  She was so excited to learn she'd have Mrs. Baker (just like Brooklynn did).  Of course with all the craziness before kindergarten it seemed like Chandler's first day came really quick, and we felt a little unprepared, but it all worked out.  She did great - a little cry for a minute, but by day 2, nothing!  She's made some friends and just adores Mrs. Baker.  Woohoo!

Now that I feel like a taxi driver all morning, we're just trying to figure out our schedule, constantly dropping one off, picking up another, early release days, and dance classes.  Wow!

 So beautiful

 With Mrs. Baker

For now I'm enjoying some alone time with each girl at some point during the week but missing them when they're gone.  I'm afraid if I blink they'll all be in school, and I'll have to go back to work.  Yuck!

Our Lives Minus Kiddos

Every once in a while we are afforded the opportunity to get out without our kids and be kids ourselves.  We really try hard to have lives outside of our kids, but it's tough, especially when you're running around town to schools, dance practices, and soccer games.  So, for those of you who care, here's a little update without kids.

For Mother's Day Steve bought me tickets to the New Kids on the Block concert.  I was shocked and so excited to go again - 23 years since my last NKOTB show.  Back then I remember begging my mom to stand in line for hours on a Saturday so we could buy tickets for all my friends.  It was one of the most memorable nights of my childhood, but I'm not sure how my mom did it - 6 of us 10 year-olds screaming.  Fast forward 23 years, and this time I let mom stay home, but I dragged 3 other ladies - Cenee, Amanda, and Heather to a concert of still-screaming 40 year-old drunk, sexual women.  Wow!  Still a fun night with some great ladies, and I think my chances of scoring one of the boys is much better now.  haha!

Had to get a shirt for the occasion

 Ladies Night Out

A couple weekends ago we wanted to check another 14er off our list (up to 4), so we kept it simple by climbing Mt. Beirstadt (close to Denver and the easiest 14er).  I'm not sure how they measure the difficulty of climbing a 14er, because this one still felt tough.  After 2 1/2 grueling hours through the slipping rocks and harrowing ledges we made it, and who was there to greet us but Missy Franklin.  Totally made my day!  This one definitely tested my small fear of heights, but the scenery was beautiful.  We don't have any plans of conquering them all, but we'll try for more next summer.  We even saw a 5 year-old at the summit, so maybe it'll be time to bring the kids soon.

 Hiking buds Zach and Amanda

 We all made it to the top!

Fast-forward a couple weeks and Steve and I were jet-setting into Monterey.  Every year Steve attends this conference, and last year we decided we needed a change of scenery from downtown San Fran, so we had been planning on doing a weekend getaway in Monterey.  I had been there almost 20 years ago and just remember it was beautiful, so we were excited to experience it together, and it didn't disappoint.  Plus, we were excited to get some Callen time in, since last trip we were so consumed with our own children.  So they drove down Saturday to spend the weekend with us.

Saturday morning we drove to Carmel after a nice long run along the beach (I could get used to that).  Carmel was beautiful, full of money and famous people (Steve swore he spotted Susan Sarandon).  We had a nice lunch at a cute outdoor cafe, walked all around town, and even put our feet in the sand - yes again.  We Weslings are getting in our beach time this month!

On our way back to Monterey we drove the Pacific Highway and stopped at some scenic places along the way.  Here's the Lone Cypress tree near Pebble Beach.  The cypress trees are beautiful!

 Pebble Beach

 Enjoying Callen time at lunch

 Monterey Beach

 On Sunday we tried our luck at a whale-watching tour.  It seems everywhere we travel to with whale tours we are off-season, so I expected to hear the same in Monterey.  Wrong!  We were ecstatic to finally catch a glimpse at those magnificent animals.  We were just hoping for smooth water and clear conditions, and we had both (which is hard to come by).

Thompson Family

 A pod of dolphins we saw on the way

 And the humpbacks

They're actually in the bay for a good portion of the year, so Monterey is a great place to go whale-watching!  I highly recommend it.  We saw quite a few, and they were so playful.

 Just a little O.G.

 Then we went out farther to hopefully spot a blue whale.  Luckily we found one!  Pretty excited to say I've seen (in person) the largest animal on Earth.  Whoop whoop!  Since they're so large they're pretty placid and unamusing.

 View from the boat

It's always nice to get away kid-less once in awhile, and we had a great time in Monterey.  Now that you had to endure a little about us minus kids, I'll get back to talking about those cute girlies!